The word Nickel is actually the nickname for U.S. coins of five cent value. The first nickel minted in the United States was designed by James B Longacre known as the shield nickel. This early variety had rays passing through the numeral 5 to the middle of the stars minted on the coin. However by the middle of 1867 this design was abandoned, as this was almost incompatible with the hard texture of the alloy. Moreover the rays ate on the details on the reverse side of the coin.
The next series was the Buffalo nickel, which was minted from 1913 to 1938. This was also known as the Indian Head Nickel. This time the mintmarks were sent to the reverse side of the coin beneath the writing "five cents" and also on top of the rim. Philadelphia and Denver both participated in the production also with San Francisco, which however had a lower rate of production.
The Jefferson nickel first minted in 1938, which continues, to this date with Jefferson on one side and Monticello on the other. However from 1942-45 a special series was launched popularly called as the wartime series. These had 56% of copper, 35% silver and the rest manganese. This was the only US coin that used manganese apart from the sacagawea and the presidential dollars.
Coin collectors can shop our auction listings for for U.S. nickel coins featuring Jefferson nickels, buffalo nickels and liberty head nickels in all grades including proof and slabbed coins.
